This week’s theme for Top Ten Tuesday is adjectives, or rather books which have adjectives in their titles.

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Books With Adjectives in Their Titles

The Little French Bookshop

I included this book is my most anticipated reads for the first half of this year; and I did enjoy this read, though not as much as I thought I would.

I loved the letter writing concept of this book, and especially loved reading the exchanges between some of the characters(Samuel and Jean, Nicholas and John). It was heartwarming and delightful at the same time to watch the characters talk about their problems, help each other with those problems through their letters, and to see that words help.

Note that the only connection to a bookshop is that the main character Esther owns one. Since the characters write to two other characters in this book, as part of the writing workshop, there is some repetition, but it is also refreshing to see how they talk about the same issue or event to different people. There were some parts of the book where I felt that I missed something earlier, and had to go back to look for it (though I realized later that it was meant to be implied or maybe, even lost in translation, literally).

Overall, a read that warms your heart.

You can get it here at Amazon

Building Great Sentences

What I liked about this book is its uniqueness; the author loves long sentences and doesn’t shy away from talking about them, throughout the book. I read this years ago, and I think it is time for a re-read. I have often marveled at the beauty of a sentence that, even when it runs over a few lines, manages to convey so much to its readers, without confusing or boring them.

While the popular opinion is shorter is better – and yes, it often is – it is also because writing longer sentences that work requires effort, and planning.

So I enjoyed this for

• its excellent grammar lessons (even those who don’t care for long sentences will benefit)
• the many examples of beautiful (and not so beautiful) sentences of varying lengths
• showing its readers how to craft sentences;
• and last but not the least, the smartly placed chapters with clever titles that help readers build upon what they have learned earlier in the book.

That said, I have to mention that the author does enjoy short sentences too (though it might not be too evident as you read the book!).

A great book for anyone who wants to, well, write better sentences!!

Song of the Old City

Affecting, beautiful, charming, delightful, enveloping you in warm hugs: these are all the words that come to my mind as I think about this book. Words do have the power to transport us, in so many ways. This books lifts our spirits and lets us travel the streets of Instanbul with the little girl, and literally lets us listen to the song of the city!

Amazingly detailed and magical illustrations accompany the lyrical narrative filled with so many facts about the culture and the city in so few words that it astounds.

In short, a wonderful read! Get it here.

The Traveling Camera

I love picture book biographies!! They have enriched my life so much that it is hard to put that in words. Through them, I have learned of so many people I would otherwise have never known about and I am glad I now do. Lewis Hine is one such larger-than-life personality whose brilliance with words and photography helped in a large part towards the fight against child labor, and the creation of much needed labor laws.

Hinrich effortlessly combines her own straightforward and informative narrative with Hine’s lyrical words throughout, and the result is beautiful. Michael Garland’s realistic illustrations are evocative, simply stunning, and along with the narrative as well as a few photographs by Hine, help bring Hine and his message to the forefront. Hope shines through its pages despite the serious issue it brings to light.

Do not miss the excellent backmatter, which includes an author’s note to the reader with more information on Hine, a timeline, and list of sources/resources!

A must-read for everyone. Get it on Amazon here.

The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night

How have I never run across this book or even heard this song before? Well, anyways, better late than never, as the saying goes! Since this song is about a fox stealing a goose and a duck from a farm in town, and then the whole fox family sitting down to a dinner of goose, it might not work for everyone. However, I appreciated that the book is true to the song, and what fox do!

Peter Spier’s illustrations are charming and detailed; and I loved the portrayal of the fox family in their oh-so-whimsical den! The musical notes and complete lyrics are included in the back pages.

I read this online thanks to the Internet Archive. The edition I read had alternate spreads in color and black-and-white, and one reviewer noted that this was one of the ways publishers saved on printing costs! You can get the newer full-color edition here at Amazon.

Rebel Girls: Powerful Pairs

Needless to say that I love the Rebel Girls series! I have featured and talked about so many of these books and I know I will continue to talk about them.

This particular one is now definitely one of my favorites with its inspiring and heartwarming portrayal of mother-daughter rebel girls! As always, I knew about some of them, but again, as always, I did not know too many of them and I am so very grateful for the chance to learn about them through this book.

Like with other books in the series, the mini-biographies are perfect, both in terms of the amount of information (that informs and inspires readers to learn more) and audience-appropriateness; the illustrations are vibrant and full of those quirky details that appeal to everyone!

Whether or not you have read (or love) the Rebel Girls series, if you have not checked out this title yet, do so now! You can find it here on Amazon.

Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics

I have always enjoyed exploring the origins of words, popular phrases, idioms, sayings, and more. This book is a cool, or rather modern twist (literally), to looking at newer idioms, their origins, and their journeys. So rather than googling many of these, or trying to play twenty questions with my teens to sneakily get answers without appearing like a dinosaur, I now have a handy reference guide in this book!!

A fun informative read perfect for word-nerds and others too! Find it here

By Any Other Name

A cute, quick read, adorable from start to end.

I enjoyed the romance despite or maybe because of the enemies-to-lovers trope and totally adored the development of this relationship; the peek into the writing, editing, and publishing world; checking out various locales with the characters in New York and elsewhere; Lanie’s (the protagonist) love of books; all those cool books that the bestselling author inside this book has supposedly written (now I just want someone to write those books!!); and last but not the least, the fact that it is a cute, quick read, adorable and totally sweet from start to end!!

Get it for yourself or for anyone you know who enjoys cute romances. You can find it here.

Accidental Gods

I am still reading this one. Since the book is one that allows me to dip into any part of it and read at random, I am taking my time to read about these “accidental gods.” Don’t get me wrong, it is not because the book is not un-put-downable; it actually is, but it also is one that needs to be read a bit at a time, at least for me.

There is so much information, so many people turned into gods from around the world and over the ages, that it is mind-boggling. Subin’s mastery of the subject matter is clear throughout, and I appreciated that nowhere does she assume prior knowledge in the reader. She relates every story with enough detail, humor, information, and most-admirably-objectively, to make it appealing to both the layman to this topic and those who pick this book because they are interested in theology or study of such social and human behaviors.

While definitely not a light read, this is a brilliant, original, well-researched, and fascinating one. Get it for yourself or anyone who you think might love it here.

My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding

I loved the descriptions of the various rituals of the Gujarati wedding, the food and the outfits, the family dynamics among generations, the sweetness of teenage crushes, the need to be your own person as a teenager, trying to find a balance between finding ourselves and respecting traditions, as well as that all-consuming stress of getting into college.

Overall, this book is as bright and bold as its brilliantly beautiful cover, and will keep a smile on your face throughout!

Pre-order this book here.  

Thank you to NetGalley/Edelweiss and the publishers for the digital review copies of books featured today (excluding The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night which I got from the library). All opinions are my own.

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, have you read any of the books featured today? Or any similar books? Which of these books would you read first?